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Oct. 22, 1935. F1 sAss 2,018,472

MULTICYLINDER COMBUSTION EIJG'INEA Filed March 18, 1935 2 sheets-Shawna @www Fwedmch Sass,

W ww @gw wf @www Patented Oct. 22, 1935 UNITED STATES MULTICYLINDER COMBUSTION ENGINE Friedrich Sass, Charlottenburg, Germany, asslgnor to General Electric Company, a corporation ol' New York Application March 18, 1935, Serial No. 11,697 In Germany March 13, 1934 5 Claims.

The present invention relates to multi-cylinder combustion engine arrangements including two cylinders or groups of cylinders, of which a first cylinder or group of cylinders receives fuel immediately during starting and reversing, whereas a second cylinder or group of cylinders receives at first starting air and fuel only after the first cylinder or group of cylinders has ignited. Diii'i'culties have been experienced with arrangements of this kind because the starting air supplied to the second` cylinder or group of cylinders causes cooling of the cylinders and excessive stresses are set up in the cylinders whenever the cylinders are fully charged with fuel immediately after the starting air supply is shut oi, that is, immediately after the rst cylinder or group of cylinders has ignited.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangement of the mi type of combustion engine arrangements above specified, whereby said excessive stresses are considerably reduced. This is accomplished in accordance with my invention by the provision of means for preventing sudden full charge of' the second cylinder or group of cylinders lmmediately after the starting air has been shut off. The charging of the second groupl of cylinders is effected gradually and somewhat later, preferably by a manually controlled element. With such an arrangement, sudden changes in temperature of the second cylinder or group of cylinders during the starting operation and the consequent bursting of cylinder liners or heads are prevented or reduced.

Another advantage of my arrangement is that the combustion engine as a whole is less accelerated during the starting. Excessive stresses of the engine material, therefore, are avoided during the starting. This is of special significance in connection with ships engines which are often started and reversed.

The invention is also specially advantageous in connection with double-acting cylinders in which air is supplied to the lower ends of the cylinders during starting.

For a better understanding of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the following description and the claims appended thereto in connection with the accompanying drawings which forms a part of my specification.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view, partly in perspective, of an engine arrangement in accordance with my invention, Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the arrangement of Fig. 1 in a certain position during the starting operation, Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line 3 3 of Figure 1 and Figure 4 is a fragmentary section through a fuel pump and air supply device associated with one of the group of cylinders II in Figure 1.

The arrangement comprises two cylinders or groups of cylinders, a first cylinder or group of cylinders I0 and a second cylinder or group of cylinders I I. Means including a conduit I2 are provided for conducting compressed air to the second group of cylinders II during starting operation. The conduit I2 of each engine cylinder is connected to an air chamber I2a arranged to receive compressed air through a conduit I2b. The flow of air from the conduit I2b to the conduit I2 is controlled by a valve I2c actuated by a lever IZd having a projection I2e in alinement with the end of the stem of the valve I2c. ,One end of the lever I2d projects into a recess |21 of the reciprocating pump I4 and the other end is eccentrically connected by means of a link |29 to an adjustabler fulcrum I 2h. During normal operation, the lever IZd and the fulcrum |271, are positioned so that up and downward movement of the left-hand end of the lever I2d does not aifect operation of the valve I2C. During starting the adjustable fulcrum I2h is turned to move the right-hand end of the lever I2d upward so that movement of the lever I2d by the reciprocating pump I4 effects opening of the valve I2C, resulting in the periodic supply of compressed air to the corresponding cylinder. It will be understood that conduit I2 has the usual check valve therein to prevent back pressure in the air line upon expansion of combustion gases in the cylinder under normal running conditions. Such arrangement for controlling the supply of compressed air is known in the prior art and is more fully disclosed in the British Patent No. 272,087. During starting, fuel is supplied immediately to the first group of cylinders Ill and fuel is supplied to the cylinders II only after theair supply to said cylinders has been shut olf, that is, after ignition in the rst cylinders Ill. The means for supplying fuel to the cylinders includes pumps. In the present instance I have indicated a group of three pumps I3 for supplying fuel to the cylinders I0 and a group of three pumps I4 for supplying fuel to the cylinders II through conduit 62. The pumps are actuated by a cam shaft I5 having cams I6 which engage rollers I'I secured to extensions of pistons I8 of the pumps. Each groups of pumps has a casing I9 and each pump includes a fuel supply valve 20, a fuel discharge valve 2| and a relief valve 22. The effective pump stroke in this particular instance is regulated by means affecting the relief valve 22. This means includes with respect to each pump a control lever 23 connected to thepump piston and supported on an eccentric 24. The eccentrics` 24 of the rst group of pumps I3 are held on a rst regulating shaft 25 and the eccentricsv 24 of the second group of 

